AFGHAN ELECTIONS: GERMANY BELIEVES IT HAS RC-NORTH

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 001687

SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/RPM - AARON COPE AND SCA/A - NISHA SINGH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2018
TAGS: NATO PREL MARR MOPS GM AF
SUBJECT: AFGHAN ELECTIONS: GERMANY BELIEVES IT HAS RC-NORTH
SECURITY SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS COVERED

REF: A. STATE 131480

B. BERLIN 1604

Classified By: POLITICAL MINISTER COUNSELOR JEFF RATHKE. REASONS: 1.4 (
B) AND (D).


1. (C) SUMMARY. Germany has readily accepted the burden of
coordinating the fulfillment of security support requirements
in the north for the 2009 Afghan elections. In fact, German
officials believe they already have most, if not all, of the
requirements covered. Germany is hopeful that the relatively
peaceful voter registration process in the north augurs well
for next year's election. END SUMMARY.

ALREADY DONE THAT


2. (C) Post delivered ref A talking points and non-papers on
December 17 to MFA Afghanistan Affairs Director Ruediger
Koenig and ISAF Action Officer Lukas Wasielewski, who
confirmed that Germany, as commander of RC-North, was willing
to take responsibility for coordinating the fulfillment of
election support requirements in the region. They noted that
this had been one of Germany's key objectives at the November
26-27 RC-North Chiefs of Defense (CHODs) conference in Berlin
(ref B). They emphasized that Germany already has a plan for
covering most, if not all, the key election support
requirements in RC-North, which it will formally announce at
the January 14 SHAPE force generation conference.

DECENTRALIZED APPROACH


3. (C) As tentatively agreed at the RC-North CHODs
conference, Wasielewski said the plan was to meet the
requirement for an additional infantry battalion by having
each of the five PRTs in the north augment its forces with an
additional infantry company during the election period. Each
PRT would also be responsible for providing the necessary
ground transport for these additional units. He said that
all three of the other PRT lead nations (Sweden, Norway, and
Hungary) have agreed in principle to do this at their
respective PRTs. Germany will take responsibility for
reinforcing its own PRTs in Kunduz and Feyzabad. Wasielewski
confirmed that Germany planned to deploy two additional CH-53
helicopters to Afghanistan during the election period, which
will be stationed at Mazar-e-Sharif. They should be ready to
deploy by March or April, so they should be available even if
the election is held as early as May. By being based in
Mazar, they will be available to support the Swedes, who lead
the PRT there.


4. (C) Norway is expected to have its own rotary wing assets
(three Bell helicopters) at its PRT in Maimana by the time of
the elections. Wasieleweski said Hungary, as lead nation for
PRT Pol-e-Khomri, has asked for logistical assistance from
Germany since it has no rotary wing assets of its own.
Wasielewski said Germany is still considering how best to
support the Hungarians. Finally, Wasielewski confirmed that
Germany will provide the necessary information, psychological
and civil-military coordination teams, as well as a
deployable role 2 medical facility in support of the Afghan
National Security Forces during the election period.

SMOOTH REGISTRATION PROCESS


5. (C) Wasielewski noted that in RC-North, the voter
registration process has been conducted practically
incident-free. Germany is hopeful that this augurs well for
a peaceful election, and believes its election support plan
is appropriate for the level of expected threat.
Koenig